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Agriculture contributes largely to climate change by producing 10-12 percent of total global anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and is a primary driver of deforestation from clearing land for food production. Given climate change, a new kind of agriculture is therefore essential, one that must meet the triple challenge of ensuring food security, adapting to climate change and contributing to climate change mitigation.

Climate-smart agriculture will be highlighted by the CGIAR climate program and its partners at the third annual Agriculture and Rural Development Day on 3 December in Durban. It will put forward options by which rural people can achieve all the untapped potential that agriculture possesses such as: reducing poverty, bolstering food security, adapting to climate change, reduceing pressure on natural resources, and in many places lowering greenhouse gas emissions. For this to be realised farmers, fishers, and pastoralists must urgently become “climate-smart,” especially in the developing world, which will be hit hardest by climate change impacts.